Quote for the Day
“…have an appearance of wisdom…but they lack any value…”
Today's Prayer
Father, today I thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ. Today I ask that you and you alone power my thoughts and actions. I entrust my very being to you again today.
Colossians 2:16-23
Colossians 2:16-23 (NIV)16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Message
How do we live our daily life in the midst of this ever-changing, crazy world we live in? By what power do we overcome the flesh? Is it by working hard and doing good things, self-discipline and hard work? Paul is very clear here that it is NOT the flesh and the principles of this world or anything remotely connected to this world. He says it is Christ alone. Let’s explore this fascinating passage.What you eat, what you drink, New Moons, and Sabbaths.Paul says these are merely shadows of the things to come; reality is in CHRIST.False humility, worship of angels, visions, etc.These produce puffed up people with idle notions and a lost connection with the Head (Jesus Christ).Read the passage in the Contemporary English Version (CEV): 19 they are no longer part of Christ, who is the head of the whole body. Christ gives the body its strength, and he uses its joints and muscles to hold it together, as it grows by the power of God.It seems pretty clear about who does what.Paul reminds us in the last three verses that we have died WITH Christ so we are dead to the principles of this world, and when we submit to the world and use its rules and principles (aka our own flesh or power, the world’s power… things like harsh discipline and forced rules and regulations) we have NO power to change. Again read the CEV version of verses 20 through 23 [emphasis mine]:You died with Christ. Now the forces of the universe don’t have any power over you. Why do you live as if you had to obey such rules as, “Don’t handle this. Don’t taste that. Don’t touch this.”? After these things are used, they are no longer good for anything. So why be bothered with the rules that humans have made up? Obeying these rules may seem to be the smart thing to do. They appear to make you love God more and to be very humble and to have control over your body. But they don’t really have any power over our desires.We cannot change ourselves we have no power to change ourselves, only Christ who has already changed us can orchestrate real change in our lives, so let’s go back and let HIM do it!
